We bounced around today ahead of tomorrows employment report and finished the day with a loss of 26 points on the Dow.  The advance/declines were slightly negative and the volume was pretty good for a change.  Perhaps due to the end of the month but that's just a guess.  We were down 100 points early and made it all the way back to positive territory before falling once again.  The US economic data was weak and there was no new news out of Europe.  Anything can happen tomorrow and I certainly don't know what will occur.  However I'm still a believer that there will be higher prices coming soon.  There is way too much bearishness around.  GE was up a touch on average volume.  I'm still considering the July calls here.  Gold lost just a buck after coming back from its early lows.  The US dollar was a touch higher today.  The XAU fell 1 1/2.  ABX was flat while GG fell 1/2 and NEM dropped 2/3.  Volume looked to be average.  I'm still leaving in the open order for the June ABX calls.  The relative strength of ABX lately has been strong for the gold mining stocks.  I would like to do this trade but I am not going to press the issue.  If the price ABX declines to fill my option order, I'll take it.  If not I'll be looking elsewhere.  Mentally I'm feeling tired, did not sleep enough.  So we'll get the jobs report, the market will react and then what?  We're still at the mercy of Greece, Spain and whatever else happens in Europe.  There is no easy solution there and no quick fix.  A tougher than usual trading environment.  Technically it looks like some of the stock indices are trying to put in a short term double bottom.  Time will tell on that.  We'll get through tomorrow and go from there.

100 High Yield Stocks Below $10 per Share

If you ask the average investor if they prefer a low price stock over a high price stock, all things being equal, most prefer the lower price stock. As a matter of fact, even if all things weren't equal, many investors would prefer the lower priced stock. Psychologically, it feels good to buy the lower priced stocks. Investors think it is just as easy for a low price stock to rise one point as it is for a high price stock, even though in actuality it isn't true. So investors figure a one point rise in their ten dollar stock gives them a ten percent return, whereas the hundred dollar stock would return only one percent.
One strategy that low price stock investors can utilize is searching out ones that pay high dividends. The dividends provide an income and returns invested capital back to the investor, reducing the amount at risk. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com just updated its list of high yield stocks below $10 a share, turning up over a hundred different companies.
One example is PDL BioPharma (PDLI), which is involved in the humanization of monoclonal antibodies and the discovery of targeted treatments for cancer and immunologic diseases. The stock, which currently trades for less than $7 per share, provides a generous yield of 9.3%. The dividend is currently paid quarterly and has been paying dividends fairly regularly since 2006. The total dividend payout is $84 million is extremely well covered by the company's operating cash flow of $200 million. The stock trades at 5.4 times current earnings and 3.6 times forward earnings. Latest reported quarterly earnings were down about 10% on a 7.2% drop in earnings.
Alumina Ltd. (AWC) is an Australian company involved in the bauxite mining, alumina refining, and aluminum smelting businesses. The stock sports a very decent 6.9% yield, payable semi-annually. Dividends have been paid since 1990. Operating cash flow is $196 million, covering the $146 million in total dividend payouts. The current price to earnings ratio is 17.8, and the forward PE is 5.2. The stock sells for less than $4 a share.
Other low price high yielders include Crown Crafts Inc. (CRWS) paying 5.9%, Giant Interactive Group, Inc. (GA) yielding 5.7%, and Hickory Tech Corp. (HTCO) at 5.9%. To access a free list of over 100 high yield low price stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.
Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.
By Stockerblog.com

Leave It to Beaver Stocks and Bonds

Do you remember the Leave It to Beaver television show? Did you know one of the shows was about stocks and bonds? For the next seven days, TVLand.com is showing the full episode for the next seven days for free. The episode is about Wally and Beaver investing their own money and trying to decide between a conservative utility stock and a speculative penny stock. Click on the link below to watch.

Leave It to Beaver Stocks and Bonds

European worries are back on center stage as the Dow fell 160 points on light volume.  The advance/declines were 6 to 1 negative.  Headline risk remains the variable here for trading.  The economic data out today in the US was weak but everything seems to take a back seat to Europe.  Know the trading environment and act accordingly.  I am still of the belief that we are not on the verge of some type of major market collapse here.  I could be wrong and often am.  GE was off 1/3 on average volume.  I'll probably be getting some July calls here if we work our way back to around $18.50.  No rush to purchase at the moment.  Gold was higher on safe haven buying, with the futures up about $15.  The US dollar was up as well as it continues to set new highs not seen since 2010.  The XAU was off 1/3.  AB and GG had slight gains while NEM had a fractional loss.  Volume was a little less than average.  My open order for the ABX June calls wasn't filled and I'm leaving it out there.  I'm also still a believer in the gold shares for now due to the uncertain conditions around the globe.  But anything can and will happen.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  The summation index has probably turned back down with todays market action.  We could just be forming a bottom in this this indicator and that is what I suspect is happening.  However we are at risk of some kind of event that hasn't been discounted yet.  Interesting times but we're only concerned with how to trade for profit.  There's nothing wrong with waiting things out on the sidelines as well.  Money needs a place to go and I think that gold will be supported here as a place to hide for now.  That's why I'm continuing to try and buy the June calls for ABX.  We'll see what happens.     

Exclusive Interview with Ken Fisher May 2012 - Part 1

Volatility, Facebook, Ratios, and Debt
This exclusive interview is with Ken Fisher, the billionaire head of Fisher Investments, columnist at Forbes Magazine, and author of numerous books including his two latest, Markets Never Forget (But People Do): How Your Memory Is Costing You Money-and Why This Time Isn't Different and The Only Three Questions That Still Count: Investing By Knowing What Others Don't.
Stockerblog: A timely topic is volatility. In your book, Markets Never Forget, you dedicate a whole chapter to volatility and why volatility isn't necessarily bad. You also discuss volatility in Chapter 4 of your Three Questions book, saying that short-term volatility has nothing to do with long-term returns. So is volatility irrelevant in terms of which stock or sector to invest in?
Fisher: I think volatility is completely misunderstood by the world, and is largely irrelevant, in that, first, the way people tend to think is when stocks are up it's good and when it's down it's volatile. They don't get the notion that upside volatility and downside volatility are just flipsides of the same coin, duel edge of a knife, however you want to view it. You don't have stocks that go up a lot unless you have volatility. People just like one kind of volatility and they don't think of the other kind as volatility.
The other point that I make quite abundantly in my Markets Never Forget book, which is not so much in The Only Three Questions , is that the way the human memory works is terrible when it comes to investing. A normal motif that you can read over and over again in journalism is that volatility is more than it used to be, worse than it used to be, there's something afoot that's making markets more volatile than they used to be.
Today as we speak, they wouldn't think we are at all-time highs in volatility but they think that 2008 and 2009 saw all-time highs in volatility. Which is all just nonsense. The fact is, volatility has bounced around for a really long time and the volatility of recent years is not outside the bandwidth of historic volatility that's been reached many times before. In Markets Never Forget, I go through that at some length in several different ways, but the fact of the matter is, the human brain doesn't think that way. The human brain thinks in terms of a recency effect and recent volatility is thought to be more.
This leads people to conclusions, because they don't like volatility, where the presence of volatility tend to make people more bearish and tends to make them miss out on opportunities. They would be better off if they embraced volatility as something necessary for success and that when the markets fall with volatility, not to take it so hard. People just simply don't like declining prices because people have, again what behaviorists define as myopic loss aversion, which is a much bigger hatred for downside volatility than they have love for upside volatility.
Stockerblog: Can you comment on the Facebook IPO?
Fisher: There is one thing about it that nobody has talked about, but other than that one thing, the Facebook offering is archetypal. IPO's on balance lose money, most of them lose money immediately. The history of IPO's has been disastrous overwhelmingly with a small percentage that have paid off and as I wrote in my book, The The Wall Street Waltz, twenty five years ago, IPO should stand for I, It's, P, Probably, O, Overpriced.
The only thing new about the Facebook offering as near as I can tell is that the total market cap was bigger on an inflation-adjusted basis. Other than that, I don't really see a difference here.
Hundreds of IPO's lose money almost immediately. This is a part where people don't remember correctly. IPO's were covered in my Markets Never Forget book and my Three Questions book, as not good things to invest in. The fact is, the IPO is always priced for the issuer, not priced for the buyer. If you went through the long-term history and sprinkled your money out among IPOs, you end up losing money. Not every single time, maybe a third of them pay off, maybe twenty five percent pay off, but much more than half of them lose money. There's nothing different here.
Typically, markets are supposed to be discounters of all known information. What is there about Facebook that any buyer thought they possibly knew that any other person, other than humans in the upper Amazon basin rapidly fleeing humanity, didn't already know.
Why is it that a buyer of Facebook IPO is getting in on a moneymaking deal? What part of finance is that consistent with? None.
Stockerblog: Chapter 6 of your Three Questions book, you discuss pretty thoroughly how government debts and deficits lead to good stock returns, and you did discuss a little about corporate debt. If you look at two stocks, one stock with a lot of debt, another has no debt, does that make a difference to you or not?
That by itself doesn't mean anything. The question is how well the company is able to cover its debt that it has based on its gross operating earnings. Modigliani won a Noble prize in the 1950's demonstrating that, but nobody has ever paid much attention to it, but it is true.
The way the normal human reacts is to react negatively to the increased debt relative to the ability to cover the debt and operating earnings, there should be no difference whatsoever. That's been known and proved for a very long time and yet humans never ever get that.
Stockerblog: In your The Only Three Questions That Still Count , you talk a lot about the P/E ratio and how it is far less useful in analyzing a stock now, and you debunked the theory that the low P/E stocks are better than the high P/E stocks. In your first books, you came up with the price sales ratio, that has become less useful but still useful for comparison purposes. Are there any new ratios that you have come up with that you look at that you would be willing to share?
Fisher: No, there's nothing that I've come up with. I'm an old guy and old guys don't come up with new things. Young people come up with new things. The answer is no, not at all. I have kind of come to the view as time has rolled on that, simply said, valuations sometimes work and also often don't when you think of the issue of something like low P/E. Low P/E stocks do well when all of value does well and low P/E stocks do badly when all value stocks do badly. The way most people think is that they like value stocks or they like growth stocks, or they like this or they like that, and they think it's better for all time, and they run into a long period of under-performance which changes their mind. But low P/E stocks on the one hand, do really well when value does well, although not as well when value does well as the profitless low price sales ratio companies.
The time when value typically does best, and this is typical, not all of the time, but throughout history, the real underpinnings of value are the first third of a bull market in time. The last two thirds of a bull market in time are typically led by growth. So what ends up happening is that if you take out that bounce off the bottom in the beginning of bull markets, the rest of long history growth looks better than value, and with some few exceptions, low P/E stocks don't do so well.
Low P/E stocks are a marvelous thing and low valuation stocks are a marvelous thing when you're bouncing off the bottom of a bear market into the beginnings of a bull market. The scary part about that is if you knew you were there, you would make money all kinds of ways. If you can figure out precisely when the beginning of a bull market is, you don't need low valuations, or this or that, to lever yourself to make more money.
The reason that low valuation stocks typically do well coming off bear markets into bull markets is the tremendous pessimism. Value stocks are typically thought of as lower quality than growth stocks. A Proctor and Gamble is thought of as a higher quality stock than let's say a Dow Chemical. That’s because it is less economically sensitive than the Dow Chemical would be, and so in a bad bear market, as people are afraid that the economy is going to hell in a handbasket, and will never get better, the more economically sensitive things, which are already cheaper, get beaten down even further and then when the world doesn't really do that terribly, maybe badly but not that terribly, they've been oversold and they bounce back more.
So it's those economically sensitive low P/E stocks that get that initial bounce, people like that, at that point in time. But then later, as you move into the later stages of bull markets and people start thinking about the long term and holding stocks for a really long time, they stop wanting those economically sensitive things and they want things that can grow regardless of economic sensitivity and move more towards growth stocks. Maybe not high growth stocks at extreme high rates, but more of a perception of quality, something I could buy and put away for five years when I go to a desert island.
Stockerblog: You mentioned in the same book that you would rather be a little early than a little late as you would miss the upside when the recovery in the market takes place.
Fisher: Yes, the standard line that you hear a lot in bear market type environments, and sometimes other types, is I want to wait for things to be more clear. Things are never more clear.
To access a free list of stocks that Ken Fisher recommended in Forbes, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the interview.
The books of Ken Fisher are available at Amazon.com.
Neither Stockerblog nor the interviewer nor the interviewee are rendering tax, legal, or investment advice in this interview. All opinions are those of Ken Fisher, and do not represent the opinions of Stockerblog.com or the interviewer.

Latest Warren Buffett News for the Last Week in May 2012

The latest news about Warren Buffett, head of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) (BRK-B):


Warren Buffett-backed BYD slumps after crash in China

Media General: Warren Buffett Letter to 63 Daily and Weekly Newspapers

Buffett now bullish on papers

Buy Avon stock for 50% less than what Buffett blessed

Warren Buffett recently apologized to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders

Warren Buffett Declares Free News Unsustainable


For a Free list of Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com

We began the shortened week with a rally as the Dow gained 125 points on light volume.  The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive.  With so much bearishness, some type of advance almost had to occur.  Getting short term overbought now for the stock indexes.  However todays action will turn the summation index back to the upside.  I'm still a believer in higher prices going forward but the problems in Europe are not just going to go away.  I'd be nimble here as we are still at the mercy of headline risk.  GDP and employment reports in a couple of days.  GE was up almost 1/4 on light volume.  I'm still looking at the July calls here on a pullback.  May or may not happen.  We are approaching a down trend line that has been in effect since the beginning of March and the 50 day moving average line.  Perhaps we'll stall here.  Gold took a hit today as the US dollar had some strength.  The precious metal lost over $20 on the futures.  The XAU only fell 2 1/8.  ABX off around a buck,  GG fell 1 1/3 and NEM dropped 2/3.  Volume was average.  I placed an order for some June ABX calls again and I'm leaving it in overnight.  I'm not exactly sure that this is the right trade but we did break the down trend line in ABX on good volume last week.  We should drop back towards that line and that is what I think is happening now.  Once that takes place we should resume the move to the upside.  Sounds good in theory but the reality of things doesn't always match up.  Mentally I'm a bit tired, did not sleep well.  We've begun the week with a light volume rally and those are the types of rallies that can never be trusted.  It's also possible that a lot of the players haven't returned to the game after the long holiday weekend.  So we'll see.  There is some data out this week that should move the stock indices but Europe and its problems will continue to be in the mix.  I'm maintaining a positive outlook for the stock indexes for now.  It looks like I'll be trying the gold shares again unless we get a complete breakdown in gold itself.  I don't anticipate that happening though.  We'll see what happens overseas tonight and take it from there.

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the First Week of June 2012

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful, and may need to avoid the technique during those times.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the market capitalization, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

CenturyLink, Inc.	CTL	$24.2B	6/1/2012	7.5%
Cedar Fair, L.P.	FUN	$1.5B	6/1/2012	6.0%
Hancock Holding Company	HBHC	$2.5B	6/1/2012	3.2%

Old Republic International Corp.	ORI	$2.6B	6/1/2012	7.1%
Regal Entertainment Group	RGC	$2.2B	6/1/2012	5.9%
NV Energy, Inc.	NVE	$4.1B	6/1/2012	4.0%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.
Dividend definitions:
Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.




Monthly Dividend Stock List
Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.


Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Gift Ideas for Father's Day

Father's Day is coming up. Sunday, June 17 to be exact. Have you started your shopping yet? Here are a few ideas for the Dad that likes to invest.

Electronics

Kindle Fire with Full Color 7" Multi-touch Display and Wi-Fi

Apple iPod touch with 8GB

Stuff for the Office

Wall Street Bull and Bear Silver Plated Sculpture Figurines Paperweights

Gold-Tone Bull & Bear Cufflinks by Cuff-Daddy

Wall Street Bull and Bear Duel Statue

DVD's

Wall Street [Blu-ray]

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

The History of Dow Jones

Boiler Room

Books

The Intelligent Investorby Benjamin Graham

One Up On Wall Street : How To Use What You Already Know To Make Money In The Marketby Peter Lynch

The Alpha Masters: Unlocking the Genius of the World's Top Hedge Fundsby Maneet Ahuja

Hedge Fund Market WizardsJack D. Schwager

The Only Three Questions That Still Count: Investing By Knowing What Others Don'tby Ken Fisher

Markets Never Forget (But People Do): How Your Memory Is Costing You Money-and Why This Time Isn't Differentby Ken Fisher

Jim Cramer's Getting Back to Evenby Jim Cramer

Reminiscences of a Stock Operatorby Edwin Lefevre

We ended the week with a whimper as the Dow fell 75 points on extremely light volume.  The advance/declines were slightly positive.  The overall market was stronger than the Dow.  Nobody is really going to commit any money to this market ahead of a long holiday weekend.  We have worked off the recent short term oversold condition but the price gains haven't been that much.  The longer this continues, the less bullish my opinion gets.  GE was off a touch on  the same very light volume.  I have no open orders here but will remain in the camp of looking at the July calls.  Gold was up $11 on the futures and a bit more in the aftermarket.  The US dollar was up a touch today.  Thin markets all the way around.  The XAU gained 3/4.  ABX, GG and NEM all had fractional gains on light volume.  I canceled my open order for the June ABX calls and I'll try again next week.  Any pullback in the gold shares can be purchased in my opinion.  If ABX comes back to the trend line that it broke this week, that will be the time to buy the June calls.  May or may not happen.  Short term overbought on the gold shares here.  Mentally I'm doing OK.  The stock indices are in a wait and see mode as the problems in Greece continue to dominate trading decisions.  We'll get some important US economic data next week but it may not matter if something big happens in Europe.  It's a tougher than usual trading environment.  I'm still a believer that a crash is not coming anytime soon.  But perhaps sideways will be the trend and not the advance that I previously thought.  Time will tell.  I'll be checking the charts over the long weekend in hopes of coming up with some type of game plan for the coming week.  For now it's Friday afternoon and time for a rest. 

Red Wine May Prevent Alzheimer's Effects: Wine Stocks

Many studies have taken place showing that the consumption of red wine may help prevent memory loss, primarily due to resveratrol in the beverage. But most of these studies have been small. However, now a large scale clinical trial is taking place through the National Institute on Aging. It will involve a 26-center clinical trial which will study resveratrol's effects on brain function in people with Alzheimer's disease. Resveratrol, which occurs naturally in peanuts and tomatoes, has the highest concentration in red wine.

So what wine stocks are available to investors? According to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are over a dozen stocks that distribute wine and liquor, a couple of which pay dividends. The largest is Diageo (DEO), an alcoholic beverage distributor which sells many brands of wine, including Blossom Hill, Sterling Vineyards, Beaulieu Vineyard, Navarro Correas, Acacia Vineyard, Rosenblum Cellars, Piat d'Or, Chalone Vineyard, and Santa Rita. The stock trades at 14.4 times forward earnings and sports a decent yield of 2.2%. Earnings for the quarter ending December 31 were down over 20% on an 8% rise in revenues.

Brown-Forman Corporation (BF-B) is another liquor distributor which is most known for its Jack Daniel's and Southern Comfort brands. It also sells the Sonoma-Cutrer brand of wines and Corbel California Champaigne. The stock has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 22 and pays a yield of 1.6%. Quarterly earnings were down 5.4% on relatively flat revenues.

If you are looking for a winery, there is a small one based in Turner, Oregon, Willamette Valley Vineyards Inc. (WVVI), which produces and markets Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, The Griffin, and Viognier under the Griffin Creek label. The stock trades at 16.6 times earnings. Although quarterly revenues were down 11.6%, earnings were up 557%.

For a free list of all the other wine and liquor stocks, which can be downloaded, sorted and updated, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

The Dow gained 33 points today on light volume.  The advance/declines were positive.  We spent much of the day in negative territory but rose in the final hour.  The overall market was weaker than the Dow.  Still a lot of bears out there but believe it or not we are approaching short term overbought for the stock indexes.  The markets are being held hostage once again by the problems in Greece and the election there isn't for another 4 weeks.  I'm still a believer in higher prices short term but that could change.  Maybe we'll simply move sideways for a while.  It's a guessing game sometimes when the volatility expends.  GE was up 1/8 on average volume.  I'm still looking at the July calls here but will be looking for a better entry point.  Gold rose $10 on the futures today but was much higher as the US dollar gained a bit.  The XAU was up 1/8.  ABX, GG and NEM all had slight fractional moves one way or the other on good volume.  I've left in an open order for some June ABX calls but we'll need to see some weakness in the stock to get filled.  The gold shares are acting extremely well here.  I think any weakness can be bought although the ideal time for purchases has passed.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  I still think the stock indices will be moving to the upside here.  There are still too many bears.  One thing is certain though.  The troubles in Greece are not going to just go away.  Whatever happens with the election in June doesn't change the fact that Greece is bankrupt.  How and when the markets sort that out is probably the underlying theme for the markets recent movement.  I try and go by the technicals and they got blown out to the downside recently.  However we did not really see a stock market crash.  So I'm thinking we should start to move higher.  I could be wrong.  The gold shares have acted really well lately and still have plenty of room to move to the upside via the weekly charts.  I think that will be the next trade if I get the chance.  We'll simply get through tomorrow before a long holiday weekend and go from there.   

Quite a day in the markets as the Dow was down almost 200 points during the day but came back to only post a loss of 6 points.  The advance/declines were positive and the volume was good.  Plenty of short covering in front of a meeting tonight in Europe.  The problems in Europe are not going away despite what comes out of this meeting tonight.  However the stock indices got very overbought and in my opinion we are going to head higher.  There are too many bears and the opportunity for an actual crash has passed.  I could be wrong.  I did look at the technicals in the past when we have reached the oversold levels that we are seeing today.  The odds favor some type of rally here, not a collapse.  GE was flat on the day after being down 3/8.  I did put in an order for some July GE calls but it wasn't filled.  I am probably too late here at this point.  I wasn't quick enough with the order because by the time I finally decided to try it we already started moving off of the lows.  Gold fell $28 on the futures and was lower than that early on.  It started making a comeback in the aftermarket despite strength in the US dollar that took it over the 82 level.  However even with the weakness in gold, the gold shares were moving higher.  Last night I placed an overnight order for some June ABX calls but it wasn't filled.  I was once again too slow when I saw buying in the gold shares but weakness in gold.  I am still leaving in an order for the ABX calls but it once again is probably too late.  The XAU rose 6 points today.  ABX up 2, GG rose 2 1/3 and NEM higher by 1 1/3.  Volume was good.  ABX is breaking to the upside from a down trend line that has been in effect since the beginning of March.  If we get a pullback to the trend line, which is the next technical expectation, that will be the opportunity to get some calls.  It may or may not occur.  Getting overbought now on the gold shares but that may not matter.  Mentally I'm feeling tired.  Interesting times in the marketplace at the moment.  Volatility has picked up substantially.  There are opportunities now as I think the risk of moving much lower from these levels is nominal for the stock indices.  Unfortunately for me, I'm still kind of reeling from the last huge loss in the ABX call trade.  The mental capital is always the most important.  There's so many bears out there now that the market should move higher.  Gold made a nice comeback today and should now be moving higher as well.  We'll see how the markets react to whatever kind of statement that comes out of Europe tonight.  But don't be surprised if we get some type of rally tomorrow no matter what the news is.  

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Fifth Week of May 2012

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful, and may need to avoid the technique during those times.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the market capitalization, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

Kellogg Company	K	$19.3B	5/30/2012	3.2%
MGE Energy, Inc.	MGEE	$1.0B	5/30/2012	3.4%
VimpelCom Ltd	VIP	$16.6B	5/30/2012	7.8%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.
Dividend definitions:
Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.



Monthly Dividend Stock List
Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.


Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

We were higher for most of the day but fell off in the final hour to basically finish the day unchanged.  The Dow fell a point and change on good volume.  The advance/declines were slightly positive.  Worries from Europe were the excuse for the fall from the earlier highs.  We got the bounce and now we'll see what happens.  The ideal scenario would be for a lower low in the indices and a higher McClellan oscillator.  However ideal scenarios rarely pan out.  So I'm not sure exactly what to expect but I'm going to be looking at calls since it seems the whole investing world is bearish at the moment.  I could be wrong and often am.  GE was actually up a touch on better volume.  Looking out to the July calls here.  No trade is imminent here though.  In fact there's a chance that we remain sideways for an extended period here and in the stock indexes as well.  But nobody can predict the future.  Gold fell $12 on the futures and more in the aftermarket as the US dollar had a very good day.  That in itself may be more telling of things to come.  Money is still seeking a safe dollar haven.  The XAU dropped 1 2/3.  ABX shed 1/2, GG lost 3/8 and NEM fell 1/8.  Volume was good.  So the gold shares held up pretty well for a change despite the drop in gold.  That is usually bullish for this group going forward.  I'm looking at the June ABX calls again.  However if GLD decisively breaks the 150 level and stays there, then all gold share call trades are off.  There is a potentially huge head and shoulders bottom in the US dollar on a weekly basis chart.  If this pattern is triggered by the dollar breaking out above 82 on good volume, gold should drop even further.  Hasn't happened yet but it could.  Mentally I'm feeling tired, did not sleep well.  Tomorrow should be interesting in the stock indexes because if we are going to head lower again, it should start to happen now.  We got the long overdue bounce and the key is what happens next.  I can only guess at what happens next but with so many calling for a crash, I doubt that's going to be the outcome.  We'll see.  I'm feeling better about making some kind of trade here and that's good for the confidence level going forward.  I may just try the ABX calls again.  Or not.  We'll follow the overseas markets for clues to tomorrow and take it from there. 

Finally a bounce today as the Dow gained 135 points on light volume.  The advance/declines were 6 to 1 positive.  No real news today but the oversold condition was so drastic and had lasted so long that this positive action was long overdue.  The question now is what's next?  There are so many bears out there that I would guess that we're going higher.  I think that the opportunity the market had to crash is gone.  A huge down move is still possible but I think that the odds for that have diminished.  I could be wrong.  We'll have to see if we get any follow through upside tomorrow.  There is a chance that this was simply the opposite of expiration Friday and the prevailing trend, which was lower, ensues.  That does happen at times.  But I think the bulk of this decline is over.  GE was up an 1/8 or so on light volume.  No trades there for now but I am looking at the July calls.  Gold lost a couple bucks despite the US dollar being lower.  The XAU followed the overall market higher by 4 2/3.  ABX up a buck, GG higher by 3/4 and NEM led the way with a gain of 1 3/4.  Volume was light.  It's usually a positive sign when NEM leads the gold shares higher.  I might try the June gold share calls if we go back and test the recent lows.  Hasn't happened yet.  Gold itself has so far been successful at holding the $1500 level.  We'll see.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  We got a nice bounce today as there was no news out of Europe today to derail the rally.  The bounce is coming from extreme oversold levels.  I'd still be careful here but my gut feeling is that the bulk of the decline, if not all of it, is over.  Perhaps waiting for a positive divergence on the McClellan oscillator, if it happens, is the way to go.  We've just begun the June option cycle so premiums are high.  I've got a couple of ideas now for the next trade so we'll see what happens.

The Waterfall of Water Stocks

Income investors who invest in electric and gas utilities are always looking for ways to diversify, yet still get a decent yield. What better way to branch out than to invest in water utilities. Compared to electric utilities which require the purchase of fuel to run their generators, water utilities are a simple concept. Take the water which occurs freely and pump it out to the customers. Of course, this is over-simplifying as water companies are involved in water treatment, developing water treatment plants, storage facilities, dams, and pumping stations.

Based on the free list of water utility stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are ten stocks, all with yields of 3% or more. An example is American Water (AWK), which is a New Jersey based company that provides drinking water and wastewater services to 30 states and 2 Canadian provinces. The stock trades at 15.7 times forward earnings and generates a yield of 3%. Earnings for the latest quarter were up an unbelievable 59.2% on a 3.7% increase in revenues.

Middlesex Water Co. (MSEX) is another water utility that has been around for over a century, as it was founded in 1897. The company primarily serves New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. The stock has a forward price to earnings ratio of 17.8, which is a bit on the high side, however, it pays a generous yield of 4.1%. Earnings were down over 31% for the latest quarter, on a revenue drop of 1.9%.

SJW Corp. (SJW) based in San Jose, California, provides water to the area around Silicon Valley. Investors receive a yield of 3.1% and the stock carries a forward price to earnings ratio of 17.5. The high tech area serves the company well, as quarterly earnings were up an outrageous 81.8% on a 17.1% revenue increase. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com just updated its free list of dividend paying water utility stocks, which shows the price to earnings ratio, and the yield.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Are Your Stocks in Prison?

This private prison industry is an interesting business. However, stocks in this arena have been relatively flat over the last five years. One reason; since 2001, violent crime rates have dropped every year, according to the census bureau. This statistic is for both total number of crimes and the number of crimes per 100,000. But maybe this information is built into the prices of these stocks, and maybe there are some buying opportunities to help your portfolio get out of jail.

The largest company in this business, according to the free list of prison stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, is Corrections Corporation of America (CXW), a Nashville, Tennessee owner and operator of privatized correctional and detention facilities in 20 states. The stock trades at 17.5 times current earning, and 15.5 times future earnings, with a generous yield of 3.1%. Although quarterly revenues were up 2.4%, earnings for the latest quarter tanked over 21%. This was primarily due to the $4 million of start-up costs at Jenkins and Cimarron, the reduction in U.S. Marshals populations at certain facilities, and an increase in employee medical and workers' compensation claims.

The second largest is Geo Group (GEO) which trades at 17.8 time current earnings and at 13.2 times forward earnings. The company operates in the United States, Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Canada as a provider of government-outsourced services, primarily correctional, detention, mental health, residential treatment, and re-entry facilities. Earnings dropped 10.5% on a revenue increase of 5.3%.

The short list of prison stocks is available at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, which can be downloaded, updated, and sorted.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain

A fascinating, fascinating book! David Eagleman's book, Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, delves into how the brain really works. Did you know that if you see a bunch of photos and some are photoshopped to show larger pupils, that you are more likely to find those people more attractive?

If you are looking for the business and investing aspect to the book, Eagleman covers how Ulysses and the credit crunch have something in common. He talks about a study where people are offered a choice of $100 now or $110 a week from now. The study showed that most people would rather take the $100 now, in spite of the fact that by waiting one week, they are losing out on, in essence, a 14,104% return on an annualized basis. He also describes why strippers who are not on birth control pills make more money than those on the pill.

He discusses the mere exposure effect in terms of product branding, which shows that if you continue to see a product over and over, you will end up liking it more. Then of course, there is the illusion of truth effect which states that you are more likely to believe something if you have heard it before, whether or not it is true.

The neurological trivia he has come up with is incredible, and all of it comes from research that shows statistical significance. For example, did you know that you are more likely to marry someone with the first letter of their first name the same as yours? Do you want your child to grow up to be a lawyer? Name them Lawrence or Laura. Would you rather your baby become a dentist? Name them Dennis or Denise. It won't guarantee it, but it will increase their odds. Did you know that keeping a secret may be hazard to your health? Remember, all this is backed up by thorough extensive research.

One of the most interesting chapters in the book is about Mel Gibson. Is he an anti-Semite or not? Many people believe that when Gibson was drunk, he was showing his true colors. Many others believe that when you are drunk, you say all kinds of things, things that you don't believe in at all. So what do you think? The book's answer will surprise you (and I'm not going to tell you the answer; you have to read the book to find out).

If you want to expand your mind and have fun doing it, I strongly recommend that you read Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain.

Morgan Stanley Bought a Ton of Stock to Help Facebook Price

The lead underwriter of the Facebook (FB) IPO reportedly bought a bunch of the stock in order to maintain the stock price above its initial offering price of 38, according to an article at Bloomberg. The stock first starting trading at 42 but ended the day at slightly above 38.

The Human iPod Dock

This video shows how a guy turned himself into a human Apple (AAPL) iPod Docking Station, the iDermal. It's pretty gross; be prepared to see blood.

We closed out the week with yet another down day as the Dow fell 73 points on good volume.  The advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative.  Even option expiration week couldn't help this market to even bounce.  We are at an area technically that it is a surprise that we haven't just collapsed.  The McClellan oscillator is very oversold and staying there.  The summation index is heading lower and we are about to pass through the zero line.  I would still be very cautious here.  Some indices appear to be in free fall.  TRAN is in a rapid decline despite the drop in oil.  There's something going on here under the surface and I certainly don't know what it is.  GE was flat on the day and the volume was good.  I'm still looking at the July calls but I'm in no hurry.  Gold was higher again, this time up $17 on the futures.  It was a good week for gold.  The US dollar was lower today for it's first real loss in 3 weeks.  The XAU was flat on the day after being much higher early.  ABX, GG and NEM had fractional moves one way or the other on good volume.  These issues also opened much higher and sold off for the remainder of the trading day.  I may try the June calls here if we sell off into this weeks lows again with a higher RSI reading.  Or not.  I will have to look at the charts over the weekend.  There is also the possibility that what we saw in gold and the gold shares this week is simply a dead cat bounce.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  It seems like the stock indexes have been moving in a straight line down since the beginning of May.  We are in a dangerous place technically that should resolve itself in a hurry.  As I said, I'm surprised that we haven't fallen further and faster.  There are no buyers.  Next week should be interesting.  Gold finally found a bid and we will have to see if that is for real.  If the stock market continues to be shaky though, I'd expect more money to flow into the US dollar.  We'll see.  There's always the chance of some unexpected developments out of Europe as well.  That's it for this week.

Well it wasn't a multi-hundred point loss but we were on our way as the Dow fell 156 points on heavy volume.  The advance/declines were 6 to 1 negative.  Oversold, staying there and beginning to unravel.  Summation index heading lower.  We are way overdue for a bounce but at this stage that's probably all it would be.  Perhaps if it wasn't for expiration week we would be even lower.  We're in a technically precarious position and caution is advised.  I don't know what the root cause is but the market is speaking and we must pay attention.  I'm on the sidelines for now.  GE was off 1/8 on good volume.  Looks like GE is not a proxy for the market here.  I'm still back to considering the July calls.  But no trades for now.  Gold finally bounced as the futures gained $38, even with the US dollar moving higher.  The XAU rose 5 1/3.  ABX up 2 1/8, GG higher by 2 and NEM gained 1 3/4.  Volume was good.  I'm looking at the June calls here on the bounce.  But I'm in no hurry after the last ABX call trade debacle.  However if the technicals cooperate I may try a trade here within the next couple of weeks.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  Anything could happen tomorrow since we closed on the lows for the day.  We are getting the Facebook IPO on Friday and that may help stabilize things for a day.  Option expiration as well.  Interesting times but we really only care about making money from trading.  The problem is that it is really tough in times like these.  Opportunities are out there but I'm currently at a loss to discover them.  I don't have a decent handle on what's going on with the markets at the moment.  I only know that being careful here is probably the most prudent course of action.  Gold and the gold shares should have bounced weeks ago and they finally did today.  Will the same thing happen to the stock indexes?  Stay tuned. 

How You Can Have Lunch With Warren Buffett

Wouldn't it be a great opportunity to sit down to lunch with Warren Buffett, head of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) (BRK-B), and pick his brain? Well now is your chance. You have the opportunity to bid on the lunch through eBay (EBAY).

The auction will run from June 3 through June 8, closing at 7:30pm. Proceeds go towards the GLIDE Foundation in San Francisco. The starting bid will be $25,000 and you must pre-qualify for the auction.

For a free list of Warren Buffett stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com

Latest Warren Buffett News Week of May 14

The latest news about Warren Buffett, head of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) (BRK-B):

Warren Buffett's investment firm buys 10 million shares of GM

Warren Buffett’s company reports several investment moves

What Yahoo! Could Learn From Warren Buffett

Remote islands seek help from US finance guru Warren Buffett

For a free list of Warren Buffett stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com

Once again we tried to rally but to no avail.  The Dow fell 33 points on good volume.  The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative.  Summation index continues lower.  The Fed minutes didn't do much and the problems in Europe remain center stage.  My technical indicators are so oversold at this point that I believe one of 2 scenarios is about to happen.  The stock indices are either going to begin multi-week rally or we are going to see a quick multi-hundred point decline.  We do not reach these technical levels very often.  I still believe that it's a time to be cautious.  GE was up 2/3 on very heavy volume.  GE announced that it is in the process of reissuing its dividend.  If GE is a proxy for the overall market, then a rally is imminent.  However one day does not make a trend.  I am once again looking at the July calls here.  Gold remains in liquidation mode as the futures fell $20.  The US dollar was higher again.  The XAU was up 3/4 but finished well off of the highs.  ABX, GG and NEM all had fractional gains on good volume.  We finished well off the highs here as well.  The gold shares showed a brief pop after the Fed minutes but that was about it.  No trades in mind here yet but I will get long again at some point.  Mentally I'm feeling OK, slept well enough.  The stock market is still being held hostage by the problems in Europe.  Once again, there are no quick or easy solutions there.  We move from headline to headline.  It is a tough trading environment.  There's no shame in conserving capital with this type of situation.  That said, you don't make any money either.  But I still think it is a time to be safe rather than sorry.     

Latest News about Facebook Stock for Week of May 14

Here is the latest news about Facebook stock and the Facebook IPO:


Exchanges Lay Plans For Facebook's Market Debut

Facebook IPO has individual investors in a tizzy

Facebook raises IPO price as offering nears

Investing in the Facebook IPO? You may have a mental disorder

Facebook IPO: Who is selling stock?

To see the original Facebook prospectus as a pdf file that can be downloaded, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Image of Facebook Stock Certificate courtesy of the SEC EDGAR service.

The stock market tried to rally today but failed.  The Dow lost 63 points on average volume.  The advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 negative.  Summation index continues lower, implying more decline.  Oversold  technically and staying there which could mean even bigger trouble ahead.  I really think it's a time to be cautious.  The problems in Europe are center stage again and there is no easy fix there.  We should have had some kind of triple digit oversold bounce by now.  I'm on the sidelines.  Even the usual expiration week positive bias isn't working.  GE was off about 1/4 on average volume.  Looks like a breakdown out of the congestion zone here.  No trades in mind for GE at the moment.  Gold simply continues to fall, down $4 on the future and another $15 in the aftermarket.  The dollar remains in rally mode and was higher today.  The XAU dropped 5 2/3.  ABX down 1 1/2, GG fell a buck and NEM lost 1 1/4.  Volume was good.  Breaking to new lows on the gold shares and no end in sight.  There is something going on here but I certainly don't know what it is.  I'm guessing money needs to be raised and gold is something to sell.  There will be a time to buy the gold shares and I believe that time is way overdue.  But I would only be guessing at when that time is.  The technicals and indicators that usually work here are blown out to the downside.  I remain on the sidelines.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  We are in the process of breaking down in the stock indices.  Anything could happen.  Buying interest has dried up.  Once again it is a time to be careful in my opinion.  Gold is still dead money unless you are on the short side.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

We appear to be starting another leg down as the Dow fell 125 points today on light volume.  The advance/declines were 6 to 1 negative.  Summation index heading lower.  Oversold and staying there.  No interest in buying stocks at the moment.  Expiration week and it could get volatile.  I'm on the sidelines with no OEX trades in mind.  We should have had some kind of decent bounce by now.  I think it's time to be careful on the long side.  GE dropped 3/8 on average volume.  The same holds true here.  It looks like we are heading lower.  I'm not considering the July calls anymore.  Gold fell again, off by over $20 on the futures as the rally in the US dollar continues.  Gold is not getting the same flight to safety money inflows as the US dollar is here.  Commodities are dropping.  The XAU 4 points.  ABX down 1/2, GG lower by 1 1/3 and NEM lost 2/3.  Volume was average.  The gold shares continue to be beaten up and there is no end in sight.  Considering the last horrible ABX call trade, I have no idea as to when to try the gold shares on the long side again.  Same very oversold and no bounce scenario.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  It looks like we're breaking the necklines on the stock indices.  That means lower prices ahead.  No upside bias to expiration week yet.  However we could go lower in a hurry.  It's a time to rather be safe than sorry.  Gold continues lower.  It looks like things are being liquidated for whatever reason.  We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Fourth Week of May 2012

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful, and may need to avoid the technique during those times.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the market capitalization, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

Park National Corporation	PRK	$1.0B	5/21/2012	5.7%
Alpine Total Dynamic Dividend Fund	AOD	$1.0B	5/21/2012	14.2%
Applied Materials, Inc.	AMAT	$15.2B	5/22/2012	3.1%

 

Carnival Corporation	CCL	$18.9B	5/23/2012	3.2%
Carnival plc (ADR)	CUK	$5.7B	5/23/2012	3.2%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.
Dividend definitions:
Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.


Monthly Dividend Stock List
Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.


Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Cloudy Stocks with a Silver Lining

I remember in the 'old' days, when I was using AOL (AOL), I had the option of saving my mail on my own computer or AOL could save it for me. Back then, I thought it was 'safer' to save it locally. But then I ran into a problem. When I was using my laptop, I couldn't access the mail on my desktop computer, and vice-versa. Plus, I had mail stored in two different places, and wasn't sure what was saved where. I finally gave in and had AOL save my mail for me. This concept is a very simple example of cloud computing. So to understand clouds a bit more, let me give you a couple more examples, without using a lot of technospeak, and keeping it in layman's terms.

Cloud computing is having your programs and data stored remotely on a server in another location, instead of on your own individual computer. As long as you have an Internet connection, you can have a cheap old computer and still take advantage of cloud computing. The servers of companies that provide this service represent the 'clouds', and those servers can be located anywhere. Yahoo (YHOO) mail, Google (GOOG) gmail, and Microsoft's (MSFT) hotmail are examples of cloud computing in a limited way. The email servers are not in your office or home as you use the Yahoo or Google or Microsoft servers. Many corporations, organizations, and universities are utilizing the email services of Google, which saves them money on servers and saves on staffing.

For corporations, cloud benefits are substantial. Cloud computing can reduce waste and carbon footprints along with providing significant cost savings. Companies that utilize cloud computing don't need to keep buying more servers. Costs relating to the disposal of old computers and servers is cut back significantly. Data security is the job of the cloud computing firm. Businesses can eliminate the techs that have to come out and install new software to each employees' station, and network administrators monitoring the company's servers are reduced.

Investors like the green and financial benefits of cloud computing companies. According to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are over 25 stocks in the cloud field, based oh the free Cloud Computer Stock List, which includes companies involved in server farms and outsourced storage systems.

The one of the largest corporations that falls into the cloud computer arena is Salesforce.com (CRM), which is a provider of customer-relationship management services. The company's stock symbol stands for Customer Relationship Management. Salesforce has customers of all sizes, including Staples (SPLS), Expedia (EXPE), News Corp. (NWS-A), and SunTrust Banks (STI). Salesforce trades at 66 times forward earnings. Quarterly revenues ending January 31 were up 38% year-over-year. The company reports latest earnings on May 17.

Citrix Systems, Inc. (CTXS) provides on demand applications and online services, including GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, GoToTraining, GoToAssist, and GoToMyPC. This company has a forward price to earnings ratio of 25. The latest quarterly earnings were down 7%, however, revenues were up 20%. I like the fact that the company is debt free.

VMware (VMW) is another major cloud and virtualization company. Its product VMware vSphere is a cloud computing data center platform. It sports a forward price to earnings ratio of 44. The company reported that latest earnings increased an incredible 52% in earnings on an amazing 25% increase in revenues. Although VMware has $450 million in total debt, it holds $5.2 billion in cash.

To access the free database of numerous companies involved in cloud computing in some way, that can be downloaded, sorted, and updated, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. A couple of them even pay dividends.

You can also get info on the green aspects of cloud computing from my book The Green Light on Green Stocks: A Quick Guide to Green Investing and Making Money in Alternative Energy Stocks, available through the publisher or through Amazon.com (AMZN), which also happens to be involved in the cloud computer business. As far as I know, my book is the first to publish information on cloud computing as a green industry.

Disclosure: Author owns AOL, AMZN, and YHOO.

By Stockerblog.com

Who will get $5,000 from Warren Buffett

It's called the Secret Millionaire's Club "Grow Your Own Business" contest, sponsored by billionaire investor warren Buffett, head of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) (BRK-B). t is designed to teach entrepreneurship and available to kids between 7 and 16 years old. The winning prize is $5,000.

We bounced around today as the Dow lost 34 points on light volume.  The advance/declines were negative.  The stock indices tried to get something going to the upside after dropping at the open but there was no interest.  Still very oversold here both short and medium term.  I think it means that we are either going to start a decent rally from here or we are about to have a pretty good and fast decline.  I don't think there is any middle ground.  Normally I would say we are going to rally at this point but the fact that we haven't yet is worrisome.  So we will wait to see what happens next week.  GE was flat on very light volume.  We're at the bottom of the trading range here.  No trades for now in GE.  Gold fell again, down $11 on the futures.  The US dollar had a slight gain.  ABX off 3/4, GG fell 1/2 and NEM lost 7/8.  Volume was light.  The weekly charts are oversold on the gold shares and the decline has gone on since February.  I suppose I'll be in a wait and see mode here.  We didn't get any type of rally in the gold shares when we should have and that is the same thing that I'm seeing in the stock indexes right now.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  Not exactly sure what to expect next week but there should be some volatility with expiration week upon us.  There's usually a positive bias.  For me at the moment it's probably better to wait things out on the sidelines until I see a decent technical set up and some confidence returns.  I think the way things are in the stock market at the moment that it could go either way.  Gold still appears to be dead money.  I'll be checking the charts over the weekend as usual.  For now it's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Well we got a bounce today but it wasn't much of one as the Dow gained 20 points on light volume.  The advance/declines were positive.  We opened much higher and gradually sold off for the remainder of the day.  Still oversold but now both on a short and medium term basis.  The summation index continues lower.  We're still on the cusp of something here but what that is, I don't know.  Teetering on the neckline of potential head and shoulders tops for some of the stock indices.  GE was up about 1/8 on light volume.  It looked like we were going to break out to the downside in the trading range but we are back stuck in the range.  No trades in mind here really but I'm still looking at the July calls.  Gold didn't do much today and neither did the US dollar.  The yellow metal was up a buck on the futures.  The XAU was flat on the day.  ABX up 1/8, GG off 1/4 and NEM dropped 1/3.  Volume was light.  The weekly candlestick charts are starting to look constructive for the gold shares.  There is a possible hammer/morning star pattern developing.  The weekly technicals are blown out to the downside as well.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  We really need to see more of a bounce for the stock indexes here in my opinion or we are on the verge of sharply lower prices.  That's my best guess right now.  I think we are at a point where anything can happen.  The market will go where it wants.  The problems in Europe seem to be taking center stage again.  I've been pretty much wrong on the gold shares lately and it was costly mentally and monetarily.  No trades there for now but I will attempt to trade there again.  We'll see how the week closes out.

Still moving lower as the Dow fell 97 points on good volume.  The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative.  Even more oversold now on a daily basis.  Summation index still heading lower.  I still expect a bounce here but that might be about it.  However my ideas have been wrong lately.  European worries continue.  GE lost 1/3 on heavy volume.  The question here is if this the beginning of a break to the trading range or a downside washout.  Time will tell.  Gold fell another $10 on the futures as the rise in the US dollar continues.  However the XAU gained 2 1/2.  ABX up 7/8, GG rose a buck and NEM higher by 1 3/4.  Volume was good.  Perhaps this is finally the end of the gold share decline.  It is the first out performance for the gold shares in a long time.  We'll see.  Mentally I'm feeling tired, did not sleep well.  I still feel that we are at a very important point in the stock indexes.  How the week ends will be telling.  I expected a bounce today and I think the odds of that happening tomorrow are very good.  What happens after that will be key.  Stay tuned.